Archive for the ‘Reading List’ Category

“How We Decide”
by: Jonah Lehrer
ISBN: 978-0-618-62011-1

Thinking about how we think.  That’s the gist of Jonah Lehrer’s book, “How We Decide.”

I’ve read books in the past about how the brain works. What the amygdala does, what the prefrontal cortex does, and so on. They’ve all been rather clinical, dry in nature.  Certainly not engaging. In surprising contrast, Lehrer has not only crafted a book on the topic of the brain and it’s constituent parts, he also puts it all in context of our daily lives.

Going all the way back to Plato’s day

Read the rest of this entry »

As is the tradition this time of year, we exchange gifts.  Some years it is harder than others to find a gift to give, especially for you, friends, colleagues, and visitors to my blog.  This year, has turned out to be easier than most.

Earlier this month, Seth Godin released a free ebook, “What Matters Now.”  It is a real gem of contemporary wisdom, a collection of one-page essays by over seventy of today’s recognized big thinkers.  To give you an idea, just a sampling of the contributors includes: Tom Peters, Fred Wilson, Tim O’Reilly, Elizabeth Gilbert, David Meerman Scott, Chris Anderson, and Guy Kawasaki. (Links for your convenience, I have no monetary interests.)

I’ve really enjoyed reading this compilation of fresh thought.  It’s down to earth, refreshing, and thought provoking.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Merry Christmas!

ps: Thank you to Seth Godin and all of What Matters Now’s contributors.

“Never Eat Alone”
by: Keith Ferrazzi
ISBN: 0-385-51205-8

A note to my father:

Hey Dad,

I can’t recall if I bought this, you gave it to me, or what. But having finished reading it, thought I’d share some thoughts with you.

For one, the title caused me to pass it by in favor of other books for quite a while. After all, just what I needed, another ‘networking’ book, but focused on making sure you took someone to lunch every day. Short story, not sure I need to read 300 pages on the topic. Having done so now, I’m pleased to have read it–should’ve done it sooner.

Keith has written one of my favorite books on the mechanics, personal experiences of connecting with others. He openly shares his knowledge and, as important, his most embarrassing mistakes too. Some I can really relate to, others I’m glad to have sidestepped, yet others serve as good warnings into the future.

Ferrazzi’s woven perhaps the most complete tapestry of its type in a down to earth fashion that everyone can benefit from. It helped I had already come to be in line with some of his thinking–being successful is less about title, income, and position. Successful, being happy, is more about the value of relationships with the people you know, how you can help them, how you can be both mentor and mentee.

Posting a review on Amazon, I find myself wishing they provided more of a ranking system, rather than the simple Recommend Yes/No option presented. On a scale of 1-5, I’d give this a 5.

Cheers

“Free”
by Chris Anderson
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2290-8

A couple weeks ago at my local bookstore, I happened across Chris Anderson’s (Editor of Wired) new book, “Free.” Anderson’s book is focused on the notion that due to abundance, digital content of all types tends to gravitate toward becoming ‘free,’ or, as inexpensive as to not be worth measuring. Case in point, when was the last time you worried about how many MB or GB of data you downloaded last month? He contrasts today’s digital economics (bits and bytes) with those of the atom-based world (physical stuff).

Rather than do a ‘review’ I want to look at my own experiences and how they compare to being ‘free.’ Read the rest of this entry »

“presentationzen”
by Garr Reynolds
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-52565-9
ISBN-10: 0-321-52565-5

Can you relate to this? You’re attending a meeting, having spent a half-day getting there, its mid-to-late afternoon, and the presentation starts. The first slide features a blue background, too-small black font, and a slide counter in the corner promising you 143 slides. You groan. 5 slides into the presentation, you’re enjoying a slide with two columns of bullets, corporate logo(s), and you’re magically at slide 14/143.

Unfortunately, I’ve encountered this scenario more times than once. One time, my own boss was the offender. Doing my best to be kind, I pointed out his colors and font selection were terrible, I was simply met with, ‘…what’s wrong? I think it looks great!’ Read the rest of this entry »

Closework, Consulting

“Closework”
by Adam Lury, Simon Gibson
ISBN-13: 9781904879008

This is a business novel commissioned by Celerant Consulting. The essence of the book has merit, success comes by virtue of better -doing-; less so from smarter ‘thinking.’  While I did find the book worth having read, I’d rate it a 6 out of 10, overall.

If you’re interested in consulting, particularly for Celerant, then this book serves three basic roles: *Introduction for potential candidates; *Corporate values intro for new hires; and, *primer for customers looking to engage Celerant.

You won’t find this in a bookstore; you’ll need to specifically know about it and place an order.

“The New Rules of Marketing & PR”
by David Meerman Scott
ISBN:  978-0-471-37928-8

Becoming a  professional book reviewer or critic isn’t my desire, nor a core focus of this site.  Just in case you wonder;).  However I have been surprised from time to time by the people indicating they appreciate my write-ups.

If you are even remotely attuned to what’s going on in the world around us, particularly the online world, you have likely developed your own hodge-podge of knowledge.  Perhaps you have picked up bits o’ info about viral marketing, online media or ’social’ media, blogging, podcasting, and the like.  Quite likely, you’re also wondering about the difference between online media, social media, and social networking.  If so, you’re also curious about how they intertwine; how to leverage them; and, what the heck does it mean to you!

David Meerman Scott has put together a 286 page book that does a masterful job of showing the reader just how all the pieces can work together.  For instance, people wonder why he uses ‘Meerman,’ Read the rest of this entry »

“Networking Magic”
by Rick Frishman & Jill Lublin
ISBN: 1-59337-020-2

Today, we are beginning to see a resurgence in networking.  In many ways it seems so ‘old school’ to folks.  After all, we have the internet now, job boards, email, social networking, blogs, and a billion other ways to avoid talking with one another directly.  So why should we do what our ‘Dad’ did, picking up a phone, or UGH, getting in the car and driving to meet with people at some drab event?

The reality is that people, in my opinion, are slowly starting to realize that nothing can trump an established personal relationship with another person.  In times of need, who are you going to count on more?  The g’zillion Twitter followers you have?  Or, Sue, who you’ve come to know at the local coffee shop?  The internet is indeed a productivity multiplier for the networker, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.  But even so, again, in my opinion, it represents but one facet of how we should develop our networks.

Like so many things, Read the rest of this entry »

“Mastery”
by George Leonard
ISBN: 0-452-26756-0

In 1992, George Leonard wrote the book, “Mastery.” And he did so from the perspective and life experience of one who has become a martial arts master, an experienced instructor, an experienced learner. Written following the late 80s S&L debacle, it is as current for today’s events as it was then, 17 years ago.

The notion of mastery is one that struck a chord with me. Each of us may be considered a master of something depending upon the perspective of a friend or colleague viewing us. Business colleagues may view me as a master of problem solving; I have patience to look at a problem, the ability to address the root cause and not just symptoms. Fellow motorcyclists may view me as a master rider, smooth in execution, skilled, competent, and experienced. Internally, we may agree with these external views, or not.

But when asked how to achieve mastery of something, regardless of what it is, we need to realize we are on an endless path toward mastery. We must always be learners, always learning something new, always practicing what we know…even the basics.

From a business-oriented, professional side this is why I elected to develop this blog. How better to understand the mechanics of something I’m asked to provide guidance on, than to do it myself, to practice, to lead. But I could only have gotten here by learning something new. And, this is a point to which Leonard talks-learn to love the plateau. As we learn, we experience momentary ‘jumps’ in ability that eventually settle back into a plateau, after which we (at some point) are likely to experience another ‘jump.’ Think of this as the notion of two steps forward, one step back. And so it is with my first blog. I learned, a good chunk, I’ve put it in place, and now I’ll settle into the plateau, practicing.

We cannot experience endless steps forward without a period of recovery. As our nation, our economy, and we ourselves find a plateau (there’s no saying a plateau has no bumps), use the opportunity to prepare. For as dark as things may actually be at times, see what you can possibly do to continue practicing your art, perhaps to learn something new, to be ready to appreciate that next great leap upward when the time comes.

Recommended Reading:

“The Brand You 50″
by Tom Peters
ISBN: 0375407723

When you buy a car, all of a sudden it seems ‘everyone else’ has the same car. And so, working on my own re-branding in recent weeks, this book jumped out.

Tom Peters does not fail to deliver. Written in ‘99, it’s as current as if written only 18 months ago. Peter’s approach is very direct, blunt with the reader, the way a good friend or mentor might be. He provides positive guidance (50 ways) to effectively brand yourself: Brand YOU!

If you’ve not yet effectively branded yourself, if you’ve not made it a structured process, you really should read this. If you’re an employee-thinking-about-being independent, then you REALLY should read this.

A nice bonus, at the end Tom provides a 2-page recommended reading list.